Footprints
by CreationsGoneAwry
Summary: A tale of corruption, betrayal, and the reversal of roles, in which Touko learns that not all good guys are good, and vice versa for bad guys. She's always dreamed of becoming Unova's champion, but with all these rules and conflicting views, can she make it come true? Follows some of BW/2 story but with twists here and there, a lot of what-ifs. Eventual slight ToukoxN.


**A/N: **Well hello there! Thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to click on my story :) It means a lot to me!

Anyway, some people here(?) may already know me from my previous story with the same name. I'm just rewriting it to see if it's any better than the previous version. Hopefully it is. It's sort of AU, I guess, but it does follow the main storyline somewhat, i.e. gyms, gym badges, Team Plasma, etc, so **if you haven't played the games (BW or BW2) and do NOT want to be spoiled,** **please click the Back button on your browser right now!**

So just for a quick recap (speaking of those, I'll have one for each chapter explaining what happened in the last), this stars Touko in her journey through Unova, though it ain't all sparkles and rainbows, that's for sure. She's still best friends with Bianca and Cheren, but they haven't met each other in quite some time since Touko's been alone most her life. More and more about her childhood and early adolescence will become clearer as you read, but it's mostly just cliche backstory stuff so don't worry about missing anything here.

I got rid of the crappy prologue cuz I wasn't sure how to fix it. So instead it just starts right out here at chapter one, which I've also rewritten. No longer does Touko waste oodles of time with OCs who bring literally nothing to the story as a whole. It will have a proper epilogue, though. I'd like to say that this is a story that will make you cry, but I don't think I'm quite that good at writing lol. Instead, you'll probably just cringe at the emotions I try and put in here. Oh, welllllll.

Humm...what else. Should I introduce myself? Why not? I'm CGA but you can call me whatever you want, though you'll always see me annoying trademark signature at the bottom of all my stories. The five game series that represent who I am are probably Pokemon, Fire Emblem, Golden Sun, Zelda, and Etrian Odyssey (though EO is really hard to write fanfiction for, so I don't).

Okay, well now I feel like I've sufficiently annoyed everybody here enough, so without further ado, let's get on with the story!

* * *

**Full Summary: **A tale of corruption, betrayal, morals, and the reversal of roles which tests the power of friendship between people and Pokémon, daring to question its limits. Touko learns that not all good guys are good, vice versa for bad guys, and not every friend you meet in your life will stay with you until the end, be it your choice or theirs. Sort of AU compared to your average story, but still takes place in the regular Pokemon universe (BW, to be exact), just with a bunch of twists.

* * *

**Footprints**

This was the moment she'd been waiting for. Since she was only ten years old, she'd longed for this day to come, eagerly awaiting its arrival.

Though, she admitted, now that the day had finally come, she wasn't the least bit sure of what to do.

"Erm...that's how much it is?"

Touko, the ever energetic teenager, stared at the strange device, wondering if, after all of her wishing for it, it was really worth the price. She'd really only seen how it worked, watching as all the trainers who came into the mart and center combination talked endlessly on it while waiting for their Pokémon to heal. She never really thought about how much it would cost her.

Plus... did she really need it? It wasn't as if she had anybody to contact through it. Maybe her boss, if she ever decided to quit her journey and come back to the Poké mart.

She laughed at that, berating herself for even thinking she would give up. She was finally of legal age - would she really give up so suddenly? And…this device was essential for trainers, right?

A black and blue creature mewled at her side, its long ear flicking against her leg. Touko looked down and smiled, momentarily forgetting the expensive device.

"Oh? What's wrong, Luna?"

The rare-colored Umbreon just stared at its trainer, dumbstruck. She didn't understand anything that was going on, especially why Touko was laughing to herself in the middle of a public place.

Touko ruffled Luna's fur and smiled down at her. "I know, I know. I'm being weird, sorry." She stretched her arms out in front of her, a habit of hers when she was contemplating a big decision.

"What do you think? Should I get it?"

Luna's blank stare proved to be as unhelpful as Touko expected it would be, and she sighed, stuck in the middle. On one hand, this was _the _one thing she had been looking forward to since she was just a little girl. Though the technology had obviously changed over the past six years, the premise was the same, and she wasn't sure if she could pass it up. What if, throughout her journey, some of the trainers she met – or gym leaders, for that matter – wanted her contact information for a rematch? What would she say if she didn't have one? It was like one of those payphone screens in Pokémon centers, except it was tiny enough to fit in a bag, or even one's pocket.

But…on the other hand, the device alone cost nearly a fifth of her savings, which she had saved up from three years ago. That money was supposed to be used for all sorts of medicinal items and extras for the new Pokémon she met, not to mention food and lodging she would undoubtedly need during her journey. Did she really want to blow so much money on something she wasn't guaranteed to use?

She groaned, hands on her head as she thought of both scenarios. Life was so much easier when she was ten years old and looking at this thing, not caring about money or the practicality of it. Right now she felt like an adult – and truthfully and legally she was at this point and age.

She didn't know adult life could be this hard.

"Okay, I give up!" she exclaimed at long last. "You!" She pointed to the Xtransceiver, uncaring of the looks she got from everyone around her, including Luna. "I'm buying you, and you're going to like it!"

…

"Stupid…thing," Touko muttered in between her new Xtransceiver's beeps. She was finally at the town gate now, but she'd almost spent half a day inside the store, whether it was reconsidering her decision (and ultimately deciding once more to buy it) or having the clerk explain every detail of how to use it.

In the three years she'd spent living in Accumula, it was hard to believe that she'd never even stopped inside the small electronics store, located just a few blocks from the Poké mart she worked at. Despite wanting the Xtransceiver so much, the thought never crossed her mind that she could step inside the store, let alone check out the device she oh-so-badly wanted. After thinking about it, though, she figured she was probably just scared she'd get in trouble for wandering around somewhere underage kids weren't supposed to go.

As her thoughts raced, Touko realized that was another thing she would probably have to get used to: all the rules and laws of Unova. Of course, she'd heard of some of them, but she knew the oddity of a lot of them would get to her. This Team Plasma or whatever the new police force was didn't like to screw around with law enforcement.

"Ah!"

The sudden beep signaled that she pushed a button that she probably shouldn't have. This thing would definitely take some getting used to, she thought with a small sigh.

Regardless, she put it away in the side pocket of her bag to forget about everything except her journey for now.

"Things are about to get real weird from now on, right, Luna?"

The Umbreon tilted her head in confusion but smiled nonetheless a moment after. The blue rings on her body shined brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight, and Touko couldn't help but stare, remembering the day she received her first Pokémon.

…

_She was six years old, a bright-eyed little girl with pigtails and a positive attitude. She laughed as her hair whipped into her face, the rental car's air conditioning blowing it every which way. Her father and mother sat in the two seats in front of her, driver and passenger respectively, and her father had just finished cranking up the air so that it wasn't too unbearably hot in the car._

_Touko was ridiculously happy that they were visiting the Kanto region. Her friends, Bianca and Cheren, had talked about the region a lot because they'd been there together with their families just months prior, but she had never had the privilege of traveling there with hers. They told her all the Pokémon found there looked really different from the Pokémon in Unova, so she was especially excited to see all the new creatures._

_One in particular, an Umbreon (though she didn't know its name at the time), caught her eye immediately. Somebody was giving away free 'strange-looking creatures', as they called it, and there was only one left – the Umbreon. The 'strange-looking creatures' supposedly had different markings and colors on their bodies, causing people to sometimes avoid them. She had also heard superstitions about black cats, something which this creature seemed to resemble._

_Its body was pure black except for the circles and other odd shapes on its body, a very light and almost metallic-looking blue. There was a distinctive mark shaped like a lightning bolt under her chin, almost as if nature itself was marking this creature as special too._

_But then she noticed something else - there was a little boy petting the Pokémon's head. He seemed to be a little older than her, maybe by two or three years, and his disheveled green hair stuck out like a sore thumb. He carried some sort of puzzle cube on a chain around his neck, and although Touko didn't know much about fashion, she knew that his orange shirt really clashed with the shade of his hair. Her mom often told her stories about people coming in from work looking like trash, and Touko giggled at every one she heard._

_"Oh, did you want this Umbreon?" He smiled at Touko, taking notice of her after hearing her laugh. "I can leave now. We were just having a really nice conversation, right?" The boy glanced towards the Umbreon, whose eyes lit up. It smiled back at him with a warm expression._

_Conversation? She wondered what the boy meant by that. But she didn't have time to question him as he began to walk away from her. He turned around to ask for her name, though._

_"Me?"_

_He laughed. "There's nobody else around."_

_Touko found herself blushing at that, acting so stupid. Even her parents weren't here - they were probably lagging a few hundred feet behind her energetic self. "Touko…I'm Touko," she said shyly, staring down at the ground._

_The boy grimaced. "You don't like your name? You should be happy you were born with one. _I _happen to like it, so don't let it bother you." He looked towards the lonely Pokémon now. "Anyway, do you want that Umbreon? I'll let you have it."_

He'll let me have it?_ Again, she was confused. "Um… Were you planning on taking it home? I don't want to ruin your plans – "_

_"No, it's fine. I was going to take it with me since it looks so lonely, but you seem like a kind person, so I think she'll be happy with you." He smiled at Touko. "Her name is Luna. She was left here by her old owner, so she's not very trusting towards humans. But it seems like she's already taken a liking to you," he explained, all the while looking at the Pokémon as if he could understand exactly what it was thinking._

_Touko walked up to the Umbreon, sat down with her knees up, and held out her hand, letting her sniff it. "Your name is Luna?" She glanced towards the green-haired boy now. "Can't I change her name? I don't really like it…" She laid her hand on top of the Pokémon's head, petting her fur softly._

_"You shouldn't change the name of a Pokémon who already knows its name. It will get confused. Not only that – the Pokémon is used to being called by that name, so being called some other name, it will probably start to think that you're calling it a bad word." His eyes glowered and he stared at Touko as if she was stupid._

_She took the hint with tears forming in her eyes. He didn't have to be so mean about it… She didn't like that look in his eyes. Touko leaned forward and gave a hug to the Umbreon in front of her._

_"Don't worry, Luna. I won't ever call you a bad name. If you like your name so much already, I won't ever change it." She pulled back and looked the Pokémon in the eyes. Sure enough, even though that boy said it was a little mistrusting, even flinching a little at Touko's touch, it seemed to really like Touko already. "We'll be best friends forever, okay?" She patted her head and listened to the cat-like Pokémon purr._

_"You seem to be a good person, Touko," the boy said, smiling again at the two of them. "I'll leave now, but please make sure to take good care of Luna."_

_Touko nodded and saw him off, watching as he made his way down the beach they were at. She didn't know where he was going, and she didn't really understand anything, but right now she was too absorbed in her new friend to care about the strange boy. He and his green hair could go wherever he wanted to; though she did have to admit that he persuaded her into getting Luna._

_However, her parents weren't very thrilled when they found out they had to start paying for pet food. But Touko didn't mind if they weren't happy, since she'd just received the best birthday present ever._

…

Touko heard a coo from beside her, and she snapped out of her thoughts once more to glance down at Luna. "Ahaha, sorry," she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. It was quite possibly the most important day of her young life and all she could do was reminisce about old times?

She looked around and noted that she was already probably halfway through the route leading to Striaton, the next city on the list. Striaton was home to first gym, though which leaders and typing they specialized in was unknown to Touko. She supposed it would be a nice surprise once she found out, though she may want to add a few Pokémon to her team first…

She shook her head. This was _not _the time to get lost in another thought session. Her lone Pokémon tilted her head up at her in confusion, wondering just what was wrong with her trainer today.

"Don't worry, Luna. I'm okay. I was just thinking." She knelt down and patted the Pokémon's head tenderly. "You know, it's been ten years today since we met. Isn't that great?" She referred to her birthday, both today and that day ten years ago.

Luna seemed delighted as she made a smiling expression and pushed her face upwards against Touko's hand, begging for more attention. Touko laughed and rubbed her back with her other hand.

"Come on," she coaxed, standing up. "We better get moving if we want to get to Striaton before dark."

The Umbreon nodded and followed obediently after her trainer, staying by her side lest something happen. She had quite the experience in battle, not only because of her previous owner who only adopted her for fighting, but also because she protected Touko when she was a child. Touko would often venture out into the route connecting her hometown of Nuvema and the next town over, Accumula, and she would take Luna with her. The wild Pokémon would attack them every so often, and so Luna did her best to make sure the girl was unhurt. Touko's father proved to be quite the opponent a time or two, as well.

"Well, we should probably get going again, right?" she asked enthusiastically, already starting to walk forward.

Luna seemed to agree, following just behind her. In just an hour or two, after passing through the overgrown route, they would find their way to Striaton.

...

"Phew, I'm tired!" Touko exclaimed once she set foot into Striaton's city gate. She looked down at Luna. "How about you?" The brunette wouldn't have been this tired three years ago, but since she'd been working at the mart in Accumula, jogs or walks had been nearly nonexistent. She wondered how it had been for Luna.

The Pokémon yawned in response and Touko smiled. "We should find someplace to stay for the night, then."

Luna nodded, and the two females walked further through the gatehouse to reach the foot of the city, the next step to reach Touko's goal of becoming champion. It was all happening so fast and she didn't know how her brain could possibly be keeping up with her movement.

"It can only get better from here on, Luna!" Touko grinned.

Luna closed her eyes and smiled loyally, not truly understanding the words but just enough to know that her owner was happy. She rubbed her head on Touko's leg affectionately before running ahead right out of the gate, coaxing the human to meet her.

Touko reached her hand out and followed directly after. "Wait, Luna! You shouldn't go so far ahead!" She didn't know much about the law, but she knew that if Luna ventured out too far without her trainer behind her -

When she caught up to her Pokémon, it was stopped in its tracks, focusing on two people in the distance. They seemed to be having a conversation. Touko watched from beside her.

There was a blond girl and a black-haired boy, seemingly engrossed in their own talk. They probably were right around the same age as Touko, she wagered. They didn't look like anybody she knew, especially with the girl's strange-looking hat and the boy's oversized glasses, and she didn't think she could guess even if she wanted to since they were still so far away from her. But she couldn't get over the feeling that maybe, somewhere, she'd met these two people before. She didn't know why, but the feeling wouldn't go away.

The blond's arm flew up in the air as if she was praising herself for something, and the boy just stared and shook his head, as if dismissing the girl's self-praise. Touko couldn't help but chuckle at their friendliness – it made her miss the good old days when she had two best friends. But there were plenty of people in the region, so she was bound to meet somebody she could become acquainted with, right?

Then Luna dashed forward toward the two people as if she knew who they were, and after Touko shouted for her, running after her, the two young people turned, shocked, towards the source of the noise. First, they saw Luna, and the blond's eyes lit up in surprise. Her mouth gaped.

"Ch-Cheren, haven't we seen this Pokémon before?" she asked the boy beside her.

Touko fell to her knees on the pavement, disbelieving what she was hearing. Surely it was a coincidence, right? _Cheren? Does that mean that girl is –_

"Bianca, you're so high-strung," the raven-haired boy responded. "Just because a Pokémon looks the same as another, it doesn't mean it's the same Pokémon. If you remember, the one from back then had a certain mark on her chin. See, it isn't on this – " He lifted up Luna's chin to prove his friend wrong, but he stopped short when he saw the small blue lightning bolt shape on the underside.

"This isn't… the same."

Touko stopped listening but finally managed to get up and make her way over to the three, and once she was up close she knew there was no mistaking it. The hair, the faces, the personalities… why did she think she didn't know who they were, that they were just complete strangers? Though it'd been almost six years since that time, she knew who they were. She definitely didn't have to guess.

"B…Bianca? Cheren?"

Her best friends from so long ago… She couldn't believe it! Why were they out here, so far away from Nuvema? Had Bianca's father finally allowed her to go on an adventure? Maybe Cheren's mother made him go along with her for protection? What was going on here?

All her childhood memories came rushing back to her in an instant, along with an endless number of questions, and she could do nothing but stare helplessly at her two former friends, wondering just what on Earth could have caused them to be here.

Both of them seemed to hold the same expression as she did: confusion. They looked her up and down but still couldn't believe it.

"Touko?"

* * *

_~CGA_


End file.
